Hi Greg, and welcome. What fun it is to brew all those possibilities over in your head, huh? I'll chime in my perspective, as a fellow solo-with-dog traveler, and touch on a couple of points you brought up.
I have a no-slide (did not want that complication and preferred the extra cabinet space) 2351, which is one foot longer than the 2350 but the same layout (an extra closet on each side for the extra foot). The floor plan works great for me and my girl (she is 33 pounds, not huge but not a lil 'un either). In place of the free standing chair behind the passenger seat, they put in the floor to ceiling cabinet that you see in some of the other models (the 3100 I think). Tons of storage space in there, and a nice size dog bed fits beautifully at its bottom, leaving enough room to step into the cab area without treading on the dog.
The dinette is great because I spend a fair amount of time on the computer, but it does get hard after a few hours. So I use the passenger seat (it swivels) for a more comfortable spot to sit and read or sew or just gaze out the window. With the bed in the back, and the rig not being all that long, I can read and enjoy TV easily from back there.
The bed is a pain to make if you like a nicely made bed. So I decided not to stress about that and I just do my best and then move along with my day.
I have photos of my rig from when it was brand new in the photos section of the forum. They would have been posted sometime during July of 2014.
I purchased it sight unseen, and without having ever seen another PC in person. I did attend RV shows and got used to what size and floor plan would work for me, but it was unrealistic to make a trip to Elkhart for my so I took the plunge without doing so. I haven't regretted a moment since.
Good luck in your search and don't forget, have fun!!
Carol
